Traditions
by Mione of Ravenclaw
Summary: Jane has three Christmas traditions that she wants to share with Maura. Jane/Maura fluff.


**A/N-So, this isn't a new chapter of Pheremones, but I'm on that. For the sake of full disclosure, I wrote this as if Jane and Maura are in an established relationship. Even though it bugs me a bit that my two stories don't line up in that regard, I decided to post anyway because I'm feeling all christmasy. That being said, get ready for some super fluffy (think cotton candy fluffy) Rizzles christmas...**

Maura loved smells. She enjoyed the scents coming from a bakery, the perfume that stores pumped through their ventilation systems, and even the familiar scent of formaldehyde had its own charm. So when she woke up to the faint smell of cinnamon coming from Jane's kitchen, she lay perfectly still and savored it.

She was still in that pleasant state of semi-consciousness right before waking, and wanted to prolong that as long as she could. Maura never felt more peaceful than in those quiet moments. Actually, these days she never felt more peaceful than when she woke up next to Jane.

Maura smiled to herself as she thought of how wonderful it felt to fall asleep next to Jane, her long, tanned arms wrapped protectively around Maura's bare stomach, as if Maura might try to slip out of bed. The arms weren't there at the moment, but Maura could tell from the muffled footsteps and the scent of cinnamon that Jane must be in the kitchen.

Maura allowed her mind to drift closer to sleep when she felt herself waking up too much. She had almost fallen completely asleep when the scent of cinnamon intensified. She blinked an allowed her eyes to flutter open.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Jane said as she waved a plate with a few frosted cinnamon rolls just under Maura's nose. "Merry Christmas."

Jane certainly was a sight to behold, clad in a matching red bra and underwear with a Santa hat perched atop her head as she sat next to Maura on the bed.

"Good morning," Maura said as she lay looking up at Jane. She looked Jane up and down, then added with a smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Tradition," Jane said as she smirked and raised her eyebrows. She sat crosslegged on the bed and took a bite of one of the rolls. "We do this every year for Christmas. My mom made us cinnamon rolls and served them to us in bed on Christmas morning."

"Your mother served you breakfast in bed while wearing red lingerie and a Santa hat?" Maura asked.

"Eww, God no," Jane said, wrinkling her nose and shivering at the thought. "I made some, um, wardrobe changes. My mom wore the hat, but she never wore the lingerie. More like fleece pajamas with reindeer and snowmen on them."

"That sounds more plausible," Maura said as she turned to face Jane "Although it would make sense given that your brother engages in some behavior symptomatic of the Oedipal complex."

Jane shook her head.

"I'm not even going to touch that one," Jane said as she licked some frosting off of her fingers.

Jane did not appear to be upset at Maura suggestion. On the contrary, she stretched out on the bed and lay with her arm draped over Maura and she placed a small kiss on Maura's bare shoulder before resting her head there. Maura ran her hand over Jane's arm and the other rested in her hair.

Even though it made no logical sense, Maura felt as though she could stay in that position for days, in Jane's bed, with Jane wrapped around her and the smell of cinnamon filling the room. It made her feel so warm, and not just in the strictly physical sense, though Jane's body and the blankets were keeping her cozy. There was a warmth to Jane and the way Jane looked at her, spoke to her, touched her. She was never judged, corrected perhaps, but never judged. Maura had not found that with anyone else. Although it had initially scared her, that type of emotional intimacy and acceptance, Maura now wondered how she had ever functioned without it.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Jane asked as she rested her chin on Maura's shoulder and looked up at her.

"You," Maura said, blushing as she made the admission. "Why do you ask?"

Jane beamed at Maura. "You were smiling," Jane said.

"Does that come as a surprise to you?" Maura asked.

"Nah," Jane said as she rested her head back on Maura's shoulder. "It just makes me happy."

"Well, you make me happy," Maura said.

"My god, we're becoming _that_ couple," Jane said as she smiled and sat up to get Maura's cinnamon roll. "Here, eat your breakfast."

"What couple are we becoming?" Maura asked as she took the warm, sticky, delicious looking roll from Jane. "I'm not sure if I understand."

"It's not a bad thing, just, I'm not usually, you know, the lovey type," Jane said. She clearly tried to hide her blush by looking down and away. Then she added, "Never mind, and just eat your breakfast. I have two more Christmas traditions, but you have to eat it first."

"You mean the cinnamon roll, correct?" Maura asked. She suspected that was the case, but Jane liked to use double entendre, so Maura always liked to be sure. Her eyes inadvertently shifted down to Jane's new red underwear.

"Yes," Jane said, then raised her eyebrows suggestively. "For now at least. I'm going to set up the next thing. Call me when you're done."

Jane walked out of the room. No, it was more like a saunter. Jane sauntered when she knew that Maura found her almost irresistible. She looked back before leaving the room to see if Maura was eating her breakfast and caught Maura staring and biting her lip, the cinnamon roll still resting on her plate.

"Eat up, Doctor Isles," Jane said before leaving the room.

* * *

Jane loved sounds, or if you were going to be more specific, she loved rhythms. The rhythm of the office as the computers hummed, officer's chatter, and drawers clanked shut, or the slow, or even the rhythm of the oars as a rower on the Charles River as they swept low then dipped back into the water. She liked the sense of movement that it gave her while standing perfectly still. Needless to say, the right music made her feel the exact same way.

That was why she had always love this next childhood tradition as a kid. Even though she would never admit it to Frost or Korsak, Jane enjoyed sappy Christmas tunes and occasionally even danced along to them. It came from the childhood tradition her mother had of putting on Christmas songs every Christmas morning for as long as Jane could remember.

Jane went over to her CD player where she had a thick stack of CD piled up. She did not have to look too far for what she was trying to find, since she had just made it a few days ago. Jane flipped it over just to make sure there were no scratches before popping it into the appropriate slot.

She sat on the sofa for a few minutes to wait for Maura to call her. Jane did not do well with waiting, especially when she was waiting to do something that might very well embarrass her. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Maura was ready.

"Are you ready yet?" Maura asked as she peeked her head out the bedroom door.

"Hold on," Jane said as she jumped up and pressed the play button. "Now I'm ready."

Maura emerged from the bedroom wearing just Jane's button up shirt and underwear. Jane could not help but stare as Maura walked towards her, smiling excitedly. Jane would say she was just like a little kid, but with the thoughts that outfit inspired, that kind of comparision felt a little…weird.

"What's the next tradition?" Maura asked, tilting her head as she noticed the music playing in the background. "Is it the music?"

Maura really had no clue the kind of things she did to Jane just by smiling in her direction. She had no idea how gorgeous she was without ever having to use any of her expensive makeup or fancy clothes.

"Jane? Do you want to tell me your next tradition?"

"Uhh, yeah," Jane said, taking Maura's hand and leading her towards the living room. "This one is easy. We dance."

Jane began swaying to the beat of the song. "Jingle Bell Rock" had just started in on the chorus.

"I don't know, Jane," Maura said as she watched Jane dance along. "I know that you can dance, but me, I, I'm not very good at that kind of uptempo dance."

"C'mon," Jane said pulling Maura up against her. "I know you have rhythm. You proved that much last night."

"Being able to sexually satisfy you has nothing to do with my ability to dance," Maura said.

Jane raised her eyebrows and put her hands on Maura's hips.

"Just feel the rhythm, let yourself go," Jane said. "Try singing along. That always helps me."

Maura looked hesitant, so Jane began belt out the song even though she knew for a fact that she was a terrible singer. Soon Maura was singing too, and the doctor was dancing around the room with the same enthusiasm and grace as she did almost everything else. She appeared almost disappointed when the song ended. Then the next song came on and she perked up.

"This is more of my speed," Maura said as the first notes of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" played. She held Jane around the waist and transitioned effortlessly from the perky, upbeat song to the slow ballad.

"What, did you take waltzing classes at that fancy boarding school or something?" Jane asked as she pulled Maura closer.

"Yes, I did, actually," Maura said as she tilted her head and looked up at Jane before resting her head on Jane's shoulder. "Ballet too."

"Of course you did," Jane said. She rested her cheek against Maura and closed her eyes as she listened to the music.

_Through the years  
We'll always be together,  
If the Fates allow_

"I love you," Jane said. "You know that, right?"

Maura nodded and looked up at Jane.

"You certainly tell me enough," Maura said. After a pause, she added, "I love you too."

Jane took Maura's chin in her hand and kissed her. Maura moved her hands so that they rested on Jane's neck while she ran her thumbs in slow circles on Jane's neck. By this point, both Jane and Maura had forgotten that they were suppose to be dancing. Instead they were standing perfectly still in the middle of the living room as the music continued to play.

Maura pulled away from Jane and led Jane over to the sofa. Even though Jane had one more surprise planned, she absolutely could not say no to Maura when she put on that sultry 'come hither' smile. Jane sat on the couch and Maura followed shortly, straddling Jane as they continued kissing. This time, Maura allowed her hands to wander over Jane's bare stomach. Jane, for her part, ran her hands up under Maura's shirt then back down to rest her hands on Maura's fantastic ass.

"Mm, Jane," Maura murmured.

Jane thought that Maura was simply enjoying the kisses she had begun trailing down Maura's neck, so she didn't respond.

"Jane," Maura said. "Didn't you say you have one more Christmas tradition?"

"Yeah, it can wait though," Jane said.

"No, no, I want to do this right," Maura said, gently pushing Jane away. "I, I've never had Christmas traditions like your family. I want to know all of them."

Jane looked at Maura and ran a hand through the blonde's hair. Maura acted so composed all the time, but there was a vulnerability there that Jane sensed in moments like this one. Jane could not have imagined a Christmas without all the silly little traditions that made Christmas special. Maura, on the other hand, could not understand a Christmas with any of those things. Jane would have to show that to her.

"Alright," Jane said, "But we have to get up first."

Maura got up, as did Jane. Jane led Maura by the hand over to the Christmas tree.

"Have you ever heard of Santa Mouse before?" Jane asked. She thought she knew Maura's answer before asking, but this would not be the first time that Maura had surprised her.

"Is that some kind of folk tradition with the same roots in pagan festival as Christmas fesitivities?" Maura asked.

"Umm, not sure where it came from," Jane said. She tried not to act too surprised when Maura started with her brainy talk, but sometimes it was hard to keep a straight face. "My parents might've made it up. Anyway, my parents couldn't buy the three of us too many gifts when we were little, so they would get us each a little gift that they would hang up in the tree for us to find. They always said it was from Santa mouse."

"Hmm, that's an interesting tradition," Maura said, tilting her head to the side as she usually did when trying to remember something. "It actually sounds as if it might originate from the tradition of leaving small treats hidden in the wooden shoes of the children in a small rural village. That idea originated from—

"Maura," Jane said, smiling as she put a finger over Maura's mouth. "As much as I love these little history lessons, don't you want to know what Santa mouse brought you?"

"You mean you?"

"Yes, Maura, I mean me," Jane said, then she gestured to the tree. "Your gift from Santa mouse is hidden in that tree somewhere. Find it and it's yours. It might take a while though, I hid it pretty well."

Maura went right to work examining each and every layer of the tree meticulously. Maura had developed an excellent eye for detail from her time working at the morgue, so Jane suspected it would not take her very long to find the gift. Sure enough, no more than a minute or two later, Maura had untangled the gold necklace from the shimmery gold garland near the bottom of the tree.

Maura held the necklace in her hands and examined it.

"Jane," Maura said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's gorgeous. It looks vintage; there's amazing detail here that you don't see that anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Jane said.

"But Jane, this is too expensive," Maura said looking down at the necklace, then back at Jane.

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't pay anything for it then," Jane said as she took the jewelry. She knelt down next to Maura and hung it around Maura's neck after fumbling with the clasp. "Look at that. Fits perfectly."

Maura took the small locket between her fingers and rubbed the etching on it, then a sudden look of horror flitted across her face.

"Jane you didn't take this from an old evidence locker, did you?"

What? God, no! I'm a cop, Maura," Jane said.

"I simply wanted to be certain. I can't think where you might get such a piece without paying a great deal of money," Maura said looking as though she were a little confused by Jane's reaction.

"I inherited it a long time ago, high school, I think. It was my grandmother's," Jane said. "I thought you could appreciate something like this more than me."

"Jane, I can't take this then. This should stay in your family," Maura said.

Jane took Maura's hands to keep her from taking the necklace off.

"It_ is_ staying in my family. Besides, I'll enjoy it much better if I get to see you wearing it than having it sit in my jewelry box," Jane said. She took the locket in her fingers and pried it open. "Grandma never put a picture in here so I decided to put one of us."

Maura took the locket from Jane and looked at the picture. She ran a finger along her lip and smiled faintly as she looked at the picture.

The photo that Jane decided on, although a tiny copy, was unmistakable. It was the first couple picture they had taken together. Jane had brought Maura along to a Red Sox game. She had managed to get the tickets through a friend of Frankie's so the younger Rizzoli had come along as well.

Frankie snapped the picture sometime around the seventh inning stretch. In the full sized picture, the pair had turned so that you could see the Green Monster behind them, but in this version of the picture, Jane had cut it so that their faces filled the frame. Jane wore her battered old lucky cap and Maura wore her brand new hat with the pink Boston B. They had forgotten about the picture for a while until Jane scrolled through Frankie's camera and found it a few weeks ago.

Jane remembered thinking that it would be the perfect picture for the locket, and it obviously was because Maura wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and hugged Jane tightly.

"It's perfect," Maura said. She put her arms around Jane's neck and kissed her on the cheek. "I love it. I think Santa mouse is a wonderful tradition."

"It always was one of my favorites too," Jane said.

Jane could not help but kiss Maura with her beautiful smile and her sparkly eyes. The genuine love that she felt in that moment almost overwhelmed Jane, and Jane was not one to get easily overwhelmed by anything. She honestly could have stayed in that one spot in that one moment forever and been absolutely, perfectly happy.

"Jane?"

"Yeah, Maura?" Jane responded, her eyes gravitating to Maura's lips.

"Merry Christmas," Maura said.

Jane smiled and rested her forehead against Maura's.

"And a very Merry Christmas to you too."

**A/N-Told ya it was super fluffy :) Maybe a little over the top, but I was in such a good mood when I was writing this and I just needed a mini break from the spurt of angst in "Pheremones."**

**Any one have Christmas traditions like these? I'll admit that I took a little inspiration from my childhood for the Santa mouse tradition :)**

**Reviews, even a word or two, make a writer's day. Please be charitable, it's the holiday season! :)**


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